


someone i can rely on

by v1ewmonster



Series: claustober 2020 [5]
Category: Mother 3
Genre: Agender Character, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Aromantic, Claustober (Mother 3), Fluff and Humor, Friendship, Gen, Headcanon, LGBTQ Themes, Lesbian Character, Nonbinary Character, Platonic Relationships, Post-Canon, Secrets, Stupidity, a blink and you'll miss it indication of fuel/claus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:13:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27177053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/v1ewmonster/pseuds/v1ewmonster
Summary: On Claus and his small circle of friends, and coming to the realization that a support system is closer than you think.(Claustober Day 24: Friends)
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s)
Series: claustober 2020 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1954516
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	someone i can rely on

Claus hears the leaves crunch below his feet as he runs to catch up with their friends. He kicks up said leaves on the way there, leaving nothing in his wake. They can smell the fresh breeze that hit their nostrils the moment he stepped outside. That can only mean one thing: autumn is in the air. 

It’s a season he isn’t quite used to. Claus much prefers the heat that rises in the summer compared to the almost harsh breeze and leaves that crinkle with every step. But he doesn’t mind it. It’s better than the behemoth that is the winter season. 

Today, Claus is hanging out with his closest friends, Fuel, his cheerful foil, and Nana, a talkative and bright young lady. Of course, Lucas is with them because they were too scared to properly confront his friends. It’s been so long since they’ve last seen them. The months prior were spent isolating himself, blaming themself for all their misfortunes. Now they know better than to shove the guilt onto himself. 

Nana has two other friends with her, Richie and Nichol. Claus has never formally met Richie, but he’s talked to Nichol on occasion. They trust that Nana is acquainted with fairly nice people. 

The group slows their pace so they can walk single file, stuck together like moths to a flame. It’s been awhile since Claus has been so  _ free.  _ He’s no longer afraid to connect with people. They can be  _ happy  _ like they’ve always wanted to be!

Claus never told anyone about their struggles. He never found it to be a necessity. They only felt right when talking to Lucas about it, and even Flint doesn’t know much about what they’re going through. Maybe it’s for the best. He doesn’t want to become a burden to them over time. 

“Tazmily always looks pretty in the fall,” Nana says, the first time anyone has broken the silence. Silence is comforting, but it’s always good to keep up with conversation.

Fuel nods as he slows down to match the group’s pace. “Yeah… I always forget what the town looks like in the fall, even though it’s kinda nice…” 

“Autumn was originally a word derived from Latin,” Nichol explains. Here he goes acting all smart… Claus never thought to keep up. “Autumnus. The root ‘autu-’ means the passing of the year, so… why would we call it fall when we can call it autumnus or rather, autumn? Kinda stupid how we have to call it fall just because the leaves fall down.” 

“Jeez, Nichol, you always know how to flip the conversation on its head!” Richie says in annoyance, hand balled into a fist. 

“What else am I supposed to say, that fall is a great name for a season?”

“How about you don’t question it instead of being a smartass!?” 

_ “What _ was that about being a smart aleck?”

Nana pushes her body towards the siblings,  _ not  _ ready to witness an argument today. Her hand is outstretched in Richie’s general direction, her other hand slightly touching Nichol’s abdomen. “Come on, you guys! We don’t have time for this!!”

Lucas and Claus look at each other, then back at the group. Fuel seems to be thinking the same thing, facing them by the time they glance at the group again. 

“I just realized something,” Fuel says, then points at Claus and Lucas, “you guys almost never fight, yet you’re brothers.”

“Yeah,” Richie says, lowers Nana’s hand to her side, “what’s up with that?” 

Claus opens his mouth to object. It’s not long before Lucas beats him to the punch. “We’ve always been together, so it’s no surprise that we were able to put up with each other for this long.” 

_ That’s a lie and a half…  _ Claus thinks. 

They’ve definitely fought before when they were little. That is for certain, even though Claus’ memory has failed him many times. It’s evident more than ever, when Claus finds themself comparing and contrasting, how Lucas is  _ so much  _ better than him in  _ everything,  _ how he stole Claus’ thunder. Claus can recall the countless times when they fought over trivial things like that, when Claus has lashed out seemingly out of nowhere, when he was close to beating him up… so what’s the point of covering up with an inaccurate lie? 

Claus doesn’t say anything. He allows Lucas to entertain the quartet. And then they continue moving, allowing their lies to eat the dust.

“Wow,” Nana says in awe while she stops in her tracks. “Guys, come look at this!” 

The group catches up with her only to come across a lake. It’s grand in size, with lily pads and leaves the color of a tangerine covering the water’s surface. Water cascades quietly throughout, and everyone is close to holding their breath at the sight. 

“It’s beautiful,” Lucas observes, and he’s right. It’s the most beautiful sight Claus has laid his eyes on. 

Fuel sits down a distance away from the lake. “How about we rest here? It’s not like we’re gonna go very far.” 

The rest of the group glance at each other, then nod in agreement. They join Fuel on the floor, some sprawled over the grass. Claus smooths the grass with their hand, watching it slip out of his hand like an hourglass. 

Claus realizes that he was never able to appreciate the scenery of his hometown while isolated.  _ Of course  _ Porky took that away from them. But he can appreciate it now, live in the present while he still can. 

“Hey, let’s play never have I ever!!” Richie perks up cheerfully. “That way, we can appreciate our surroundings while not being bored out of our minds.” 

And Claus was  _ just  _ starting to settle down! It’s not like he can say no though. He likes playing games as much as the next guy, but he feels out of their element nowadays.

“Sounds good,” Fuel says, stretching his arms. The others nod soundlessly. 

“Cool,” Richie stands up, “I’ll go first. Never have I ever…” she glances at the others. “Kissed anyone!” 

Nana, Lucas, Nichol, Fuel and Richie put up a finger. Claus looks down in realization. 

“Claus,” Lucas says in amusement, resisting the urge to laugh, “you’ve kissed someone?”

“When I was little, yeah,” Claus rubs the back of their head. “It was for a dare. Some girl dared me to kiss her, I don’t remember her name.” Not like he remembers anything nowadays. “I… don’t think I’ll ever do it again.”

Fuel wraps an arm around Claus’. “My man Claus over here gettin’ the ladies!”

Richie turns to Fuel. “Are you  _ seriously  _ trying to act heterosexual? We know you’re gay, you don’t gotta hide it!” Claus wonders if she was trying to act nice or not.

Fuel looks at Claus, red in the face. When he sits back down, his face returns to its natural color. “Yeah, yeah. Also Richie,  _ you  _ haven’t kissed anyone? I guess that means you haven’t found a girl yet.”

“I have  _ too!”  _ Richie retorts. She pushes her forefingers together in embarrassment. “I just dunno if she’ll accept my confession…” 

“Well, whenever you’re ready, we’re rooting for you, Richie!” Nana raises a hand in the air. Richie utters a thanks and adjusts her position. 

“What about you guys?” Fuel points to Nichol and Lucas. “Why haven’t you guys kissed anyone?”

Nichol crosses his arms. “We already know how I’m uninterested in romance.” He says. “I’d much prefer to do anything else.” 

“Same here,” Lucas says. “Besides, I need to take care of the house and Claus.”

Claus rolls their eyes. “You don’t gotta take care of me, Lucas. I can manage.” 

“You almost burned the house down trying to cook last night…”

“It was my first time cooking in almost three years, give me a break!”

“Anyways,” Nana interrupts the conversation with a clap, “I’ll go next. Never have I ever told a secret.” 

Lucas, Richie and Claus put up a finger. The rest stare at the trio in curiosity. 

“That’s because I have a reputation to upkeep,” Richie says when multiple eyes are planted on her. “The only thing major thing I’ve told you guys is that I’m a lesbian.” 

_ That’s fair,  _ Claus thinks. He wouldn’t want to pry her secrets open anyway. He knows more than what’s necessary about the topic. 

“Lucas, I can tell that you have a  _ lot  _ of juicy secrets,” A small smile is plastered on Richie’s face. “Care to share with the class?”

“Richie, he-”

Lucas looks at her nervously. He points a finger to himself. “Wait, am I supposed to?” 

“No, but,” her gaze shifts towards the group, “we’ve known each other for three years, no? So it’d be interesting to hear something from you that we haven’t known before.”

Claus’ thoughts begin to race. Why is she grilling Lucas with such a question? It’s something Claus can’t begin to fathom. Lucas is probably going to decline, but--

“--alright,” Lucas says. “I can work with that.”

It seems that Richie was even shocked by the response. Everyone turns to look at each other, holding their breath until Lucas spoke again. 

“This is something that I never told Claus about either,” Lucas continues, his hands laid still on his lap. 

Claus tries not to let panic get the best of them right then. It’s…  _ scary  _ that Lucas has something to hide, it’s  _ unlike  _ him. He breathes in and out. Better to get it over with than to panic over something that could be a minor inconvenience. 

Lucas sighs. He closes his eyes, allows himself to count to ten. And then, before Claus knows it, the Lucas they know is gone; replaced with something that is no longer human. A  _ dragon  _ that stands tall and proud is all that’s left of him. Claus can tell it’s him by the small strand of blond hair at the top of the dragon’s head. 

The others are pale in the face, some even shaking in their boots. Claus’ jaw drops, and the only thing he wants to do right then is yell in Lucas’ face. 

Lucas reverts to his natural form, looking at them as if he  _ didn’t  _ just turn into a dragon just now. This results in an uproar from the group, save for Claus, who bottles up his anger because he knows better than to lash out at his brother. 

“What…  _ was  _ that?” Richie asks, droplets of sweat evaporating from her face. 

Fuel, however, exhibits the opposite reaction. “That was so cool bro! How’d you do that? Can you teach me?” 

Lucas merely laughs at the two’s responses. “Hold your horses so I can explain.” 

“Before you do that,” Claus says, “may I speak with you?” He turns to the others, then back at his brother.  _ “Alone?” _

Lucas nods. Claus leads him out of the group’s peripheral view. He gains the urge to punch at his chest right then, but they relent. 

“How the hell could you trust them with a secret like that?” Claus yells, their voice gruff and desperate. “There’s  _ no way  _ you can explain to them that-” 

“It’s fine.”

_ “No it isn’t.”  _

Lucas smiles. “I don’t need to explain the whole thing. I wouldn’t want them to know that their memories have been wiped since the reset… that would just be repeating history.” He takes Claus’ hand and slides it down so that it reaches their side. “It’s going to be fine. They’ll learn to take it well.” A pause. “Don’t you trust me?”

That’s a hard question to answer. Claus can’t trust anyone, not anymore. If he does, then they could manipulate them like Porky did. But Lucas? He can trust Lucas, right…? 

“I… yeah,” Claus says in defeat. Back to business. “So what kind of lie are you going to fabricate?”

“You’ll see,” Lucas gently pushes Claus out of the way. 

Claus sits back down in their spot. And that’s when Lucas begins to explain: 

“My heart has been fused with the Dark Dragon since birth, and since then, I have inherited its power. This makes me a half-human, half-dragon hybrid. I don’t do much with these powers, since there is no need to. But it’s a secret I have kept to myself for a long time. I didn’t even tell Claus until now.” He looks at Claus as he finishes his statement. “So… that’s it.” 

Honestly, that’s a  _ much  _ cooler story than Lucas pulling the Seven Needles only for the power of the Dark Dragon to be ingrained in his veins. At least, that’s what Claus  _ thinks  _ what happened. 

“That’s amazing,” Nana says in awe. There’s nothing much to say beyond that. The others say similar words. 

“Welp,” Fuel says, the evening sky making itself known, “it’s gettin’ late. How’s about we head back?” 

“Yeah,” Richie says. “Our father is going to  _ kill  _ us if he sees us stay late past curfew.” She scurries to her feet along with Nichol. 

Claus says nothing else, only sticking to Lucas’ side. He meets his eyes, and when they look away, they could see their brother’s smile at the corner of his eye. It came off as ominous but… Claus knows better than to question Lucas’ judgement. 

His friends may not know anything about the lives he and Lucas have kept from them, but he’s blessed to have them as friends. Because without a support system to keep them at bay, Claus wouldn’t be sure where he’d be without them. 

And when the time comes to tell their own secrets, Claus is more than willing to share with them. 

But first comes asking Lucas what his damage is. 

**Author's Note:**

> if u couldnt tell, i Really like the half dragon lucas headcanon and i'm definitely gonna explore that headcanon on the next prompt i'll be working on (day 28: needle)!! 
> 
> also this is my first time writing abt richie and nichol so pls go easy on me ghfjdhfj i wanna eventually write abt the other tazmily npcs more (nana, richie, nichol, fuel, etc) cause they have stories to tell as much as the main chars have and i just,, find them rlly interesting?? that might just be me tho^^


End file.
